The wonky hour

On Friday I had my first practice in the studio. On Tuesday we were in the studio for the first time, and learnt what all those buttons mean and how to play and cue tracks, adjust and check their levels and use the mic. I have to say the whole button thing was good to know about, and I'm slightly reassured because at this point I don't have to use all the buttons and Anyway back to my first "alone" time in the studio. Well it's hard! And I made lots of mistakes. In some ways I had a super time, rocking out to all my favourite songs ( I bought some of my own cds in) and sang and chair danced along, but well it meant I got distracted and didn't leave enough time to cue the next track and get it's levels ( volume) right and there were some big gaping holes. You know when you listen to radio and each song glides smoothly into the next? WEll that aint easy, and making sure you turn things off and cue and check your next track ( I could go really technical here but I think it might be boring ) And then there's the talking, that's probably the hardest bit for me, I'm not a big talker and I think suddenly with a mic in my face even bands and songs I usually have things to say about reduces me to a ummming and ahhing idiot. Plus you need to make sure your talking loud enough as well as finding things to say!  Ok there were a few moments where I rose above myself and managed a few smooth moves, but I got cocky and it was " oh my god this song! I love this song". HA, I'm gunna need a lot of practice, but I guess it would be weird if i could do it all straight away ( although it would be really nice)

Just a minute in ... May

May so for has been a busy month for me, and it hasn't helped that my gastro keeps rearing it's head, which sort of means I feel like I'm doing a lot of catching up
Listening- Veckamist by Grizzly bear. I love this album so much and have been listening to little else..... except Okkervil River! Ha, perhaps you peeps are a tad sick of me talking about them well sorry, but after seeing them live and their amazing performance ( and meeting them) I have grown to love them even more ( if that is possible) and can't stop playing their music. they are pure class.

Making- lots of my little amigurumi guys at the moment, you know Peanut , Scooter etc, seem to be the flavour of the month. Although I did start on two different mohair guys, but time has just gotten away from me.

Watching- West Wing still, I'm almost there, on season 7 disk 5 as we speak, and planning to finish the series off tonight. I'm not sure where to after I've finished it, or what I will do. I always go into a little mourning period when I've finished a series. It's silly but you become so involved with all the characters and then it just stops ( I know they are not real people but...)

Eating- Eating hasn't been totally fun this month, hence the goings on in my tummy, at times I feel like I've lived on butterscotches  and very plain things, and really enjoying soup because it's becoming soup season.

Singing- May seems to have been a bit more a singy month for me, and since my ipod is still yet to come back to me I've been being my own ipod so to speak.

For more minutes in May visits August St.

Flickr find

baby wooly mammoth, originally uploaded by berrysprite.

Isn't this wooly mammoth adorable?? Berrysprite makes a lot very very sweet tiny amigurumi, and her photostream is really worth a look!

Me with Okkervil River!!!

YAY!!! I love this bad sooooooooooo much!(  (but I think some of you might know that by now! I'm the short blonde unphotogenic one on the right, in case you don't know what I look like).

My creative space

This week my creative space is a total pigsty due to unfortunate events and that I've a little bit much to do ( hence the close up pic because I'm a little embarassed) and had to drop everything.

I'm working on far too many bears than I like at the moment, and then today I've had the sad news that my very special cousin will have to have an emergency C section in the next two weeks,myabe even in the next three days. She is an a bit over 6 weeks, and the baby is the size of a 5 week baby. I know she has always loved Ned, so I've sort of dropped everything, to make her one asap, so I can post him to her and she gets something in the mail perhaps something a little positive. 

SO in my  pic we have some of the crocheted pieces of him, a bit of yarn from the Cornflakes I'm working on,  some blue yarn that may go on a round crochet cushion I'm dreaming of making and the same Colin head, pictured  as last week ( i think he is going to be put on the back burner for a bit ) We are all thinking positive, but it's really hard, most of all for her, the baby is only 500grams. It's not really fair, I know her ( my cousin) and if there is anyone who I know whose wanted children.

For more creative space and inspiration pop over to Kirsty's beautiful blog.

Words and Pictures- Tucked in bed.

Sorry I just couldn't help myself.

For more Tucked in Bed words and Pictures check out the wonderful blog here.

My creative space

This week i've got lots of bears on the go. I usually have two tads on the go, but this week I have 4 ( one not pictured). So we have a Scooter nearing completion, the next Colin head and a new bear I'm working on with this amazing mohair I bought a while back, that already looks worn and old. I've been saving it for the right moment, and it seems suddenly it's now. I've been playing around with paper and looking on ebay at funny old worn character bears for inspiration.

Thanks as always to our lovely Host, and visit her not only to see her amazing creative space, but others too.

Kinda freaking out

graveyard shift at 3rrr, originally uploaded by hradcanska.

Thank you all for the sweet comments about my course last night. I'm sort of freaking out about it, inside. It's sort of like being back at school. I found out last night that we actually get assessed on it, have to a) do a live demo in front of the teacher, b) take a written test and c) hand in a a 30 recorded "demo" or little radio program covering an interview, station ids, music etc, and at least one "cart" ( I have no idea what that is)
Next week we jump straight into the studio ( aaahhh) and begin to learn all the button, techy stuff. I think also at the end we do a graveyard shift at rrr between the delightful hours of 2am-6am. I'll be downing lots of cups of tea that night I can tell you. Luckily I don't think many people will listen at that time, (except my mum- you know what mum's are like)
Anyway I really like the teacher, Camilla, she seems great, and the other people seem lovely too, although a bit more confident perhaps than me. Oh well it's good to learn something new, it's just this is totallly different to the world of bears and wonks and craft.

A different sort of bear

I've been waiting to get my hands on Grizzly Bears Veckatimest and now I have. And it's beautiful. I do love this band, and no I'm not biased because of the name. To be honest when I found out of about them, I was a bit scared of listening to them, because of the name- my love of bears etc and what if I hated them?

WEll the good news is I love them! 

Flickr find

needle felted sheep, originally uploaded by vriad_lee.

Isn't this sheep amazing? Please check out all Vriad lee's set of needle felted animals, because they are all incredible.

Something new

old lovely radio, originally uploaded by paololivorno...goodnight all my friends.

Tonight I start my Broadcasting course at RRR. I'm rather petrified as I'm not really very technologically minded or skilled and I've only twice been in the studio and the first time, I got so scared I wanted to leave straight away. I've been sort of practising on my Ipod, which I know sounds silly, seeing what songs go together and would make good brackets, and making smooth transitions between songs and fading them in and out etc. But I think radio broadcasting and panelling is harder than my ipod!

Even better than expected!

Last night I saw Okkervil River, and they were amazing. Truly. OK you are probably sick of me talking about them, but it was seriously one of the best gigs I've been too, everything was great, atmosphere, their performance, they played almost all my favourite songs ( which the above song is one of). I'd been so looking forward to it, and people had told me they were great live, so I did worry that perhaps my expectations would to be high, and they would be a little disapointed having built it up so much. But no they well and beyond exceeded what I had thought and expected. It's lovely when that happens.
I also was lucky enough to meet them on Saturday, and they were lovely too.

I really love this song.

I know it's not the happiest song, but I think it's just beautiful.

One of those things

On Tuesday night at Brown Owls, I finally finished embroidering this piece. I started it in 2007 and the first stitching night Pip ever ran, and well only was finally two nights ago.. Lovely Catherine, asked me what I was going to do with it now, and to be honest, and I was just so relieved, excited and proud ( though I'm not sure I should be the latter) that I had finished it, that I couldn't deal with that other thought of now it's done what will it become. That finally step of making embroideries into something is not a strong point of mine, perhaps I will wait another 2 years to finish it off properly?

THe pattern is from first Japanese craft book I ever saw and Pip kindly loaned me, I loved it, it's very me, but you know i don't think I was totally realistic about it, you know sort of like when you are eyes are bigger than your stomach ( or time or something) just with my bears, i've been too busy, and then when not, still wanting to make bears, and the longer it sat there the worse the thought got going back to it somehow...

EXCITING STUFF!

Okkervil River, originally uploaded by wunderkind_magali.

Ok I know I keep going on about Okkervil River but peeps I have really exciting new, I'm going to meet them! This really is pee in your pants type excitement and also pee in your pants nervousness! On Saturday morning when they come into RRR for an interview, I'm going to be helping out! WOuld you believe? Lovely Lyndal made it happen. Ok I know I'm sounding like a full on groupie, but I LOVE this band, one of my favourites ever. I'm so scared and excited, I think I might spew. If you don't know them, I definetly recommend ( obviously) checking them out.
THey are super good.

Sad news

One of my favourite bands of all times the Lucksmiths have decided to call it a day. So I'm sad.  I don't want to sound cheesy or corny, but I've been listening to them going to see them for 15 years now, from when I was 14 years old, so you know I've sort of grown up with them and perhaps in my innocence I thought they'd be together forever.

slumps, grunts and grumps

I love that there are desserts called slumps and grunts, do you think if you made a sort of combination you get a grump?

Doodles

I've been doing a little bit of doodling of late, I haven't  really done much drawing since I was a kid,and while I'm no budding artist, I'm back to really enjoying it.

Hug Salt Pepper Shaker

Hug Salt Pepper Shaker, originally uploaded by _ES.

How cute are these?

WEEEEEEEEE!

I finished Peabody last night, and ( for me anyway) the first thing word that comes to mind is WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! ANd not in the rude sense ( get your mind out of the gutter). OK perhaps I'm crazy and the antibiotics are doing something weird. 

I think he's a playful little guy, Mr Peabody. He had me up all night playing away, and when I finally told him I had had enough I could hear " weeeeeeeeeeeeeee" coming from the living room. He also likes soft boiled eggs with soldiers, is quite fond of the recorder, drawing with chalk on the footpath and well doing any game or activity where he needs to stick his arms out in front of him, so diving blind mans bluff , pin the tail on the donkey etc.

My creative space

The current bear I'm working on, it's a newby, I think I will call him Peabody. I would have loved to finish him earlier but when I started on him, I hadn't checked if I had the current joints to make him whole and put him together, and I didn't and you can only get them from teddy supply places. Silly me, do you ever do that? I do it constantly, start on something and realise that you don't have all the stuff or tools to finish/make it and there you are left mid project wanting to finish it and waiting not very patiently by the mail box.

Also on my couch, at the back is the bottom have of little Wally one of my old steiff guys. I think his just keeping me company and checking out I do things right.

OK I sort of wanted to say something, I seem to be upsetting a few people with my bear body parts, which is very sweet that they see life and soul in bears, but the thing is i haven't taken them apart, in a way the bears have not even be born yet really. I don't want to sound harsh, but it is sort of like quilt blocks or something or perhaps like when you see a babies ultrasound, or something . I don't mean to upset anyone and if people do find it too distressing I will stop, for those of you who know me, know I'm not trying to distress and upset people. I'm not doing it to shock, I make bears and putting them together is part of it. 

Anyway thank you to our lovely host Kirst, check out her site, she is truly inspiring and amazing in her creativity and craftiness.

New blog love- Tadas Revolution

Spring Cleaning, originally uploaded by TADA's Revolution.

I found this blog via Flickr, and it's just really gorgeous. Full of whimsy and fun, and sweet stuff ( and lots of amigurumi and bears) It's really worth a lot.

Shaking it up

Found at my local oppy.

Mary and Max

Tonight I saw Mary and Max. I really loved it. I thought it was really beautiful, honest, charming and funny. It is so refreshing to see a film that is about real things, and doesn't floss everything over, about loneliness, friendship, life I guess and people on the margins of society.

In the pipeline

Latest bear head, I'm working on. This guy will be a bit smaller than the other mohair teds I've done in the past ( around 20cm) and I have to say I'm always amazed at how much quicker it makes it (you think I would have caught on by now) and I guess also when I'm not stuffing it with excelsior.  Sometimes I worry a lot of other people who make bears, or bear artists, although I have a problem calling myself that I don't feel up to their standard and I don't think of well my bears at least as "art", have a certain style to their bears whereas I tend to like to jump around the shop, and make all different sorts of bears. I guess perhaps there is nothing wrong with that, I just get inspired by lots of different stuff.

Frisbee!

Latest bear .Part alien, part bear I think.